As our team continues to grow, so do our employees. Michelle Hull, otherwise known as the friendly face that greets guests upon arrival and keeps our office running, will be stepping into a new role as one of our more senior members, Wendy Gallant, embarks on a new journey and raises a glass to retirement!

Wendy Gallant, our esteemed Office Manager and employee of over twenty-years, hopes to spend her time planning the occasional trip to warm climates, giving back to her community and re-discovering her love of quilting.

With this, we've welcomed Book Sadprasid to our ever-growing team! Book comes to us from within the startup scene as a previous employee of SimpTek, a company that uses big data analytics to uncover insights about electricity to increase energy efficiency. Originating from Thailand, Book brings with her a love of photography, a quarky personality and a unique name. Known for introducing herself...

In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, The Pathways to Prosperity Annual National Conference closed the year reflecting on Canada’s current innovation in immigration research, policy, practice, and future steps. The conference was held in the city of Toronto, that became host to various Fredericton Region representatives.

Over 350 participants attended the National Conference, including six Fredericton stakeholders: The City of Fredericton, New Brunswick Population Growth Division, The Multicultural Association of Fredericton, The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, The Local Immigration Partnership of Fredericton, and Ignite Fredericton.

Best practices and resources gathered by Fredericton region stakeholders present at the conference will work to enhance the level at which we continue to demonstrate Canada’s leadership in immigration and Atlantic Canada’s innovative practices, such as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program and NouLab&...

In recent columns, we have explored innovation happening across multiple sectors, which most simply defined is the conversion of ideas into money. Through the development of new solutions/methods -- businesses, government and institutions are better serving their customers to meet the ever-changing market demand. In this month’s column, we will talk about some initiatives designed to help our vibrant art and cultural community convert their innovations into viable business enterprises.

At a macro level in 2014, we know that the economic impact of culture (which includes heritage, culture, and arts) was $670.5 million in New Brunswick. We also know that the arts and cultural sector is a vital component in the attraction and retention of o...

I recently had the privilege to tour the Research & Productivity Council (RPC), and was blown away at the magnitude of world-class research taking place on College Hill Road. With over 1000 clients in 30 countries from around the world, RPC holds over $15 million in highly sophisticated scientific equipment, and it generates over $10 million annually in revenue. In my humble opinion, this is an organization that has completely flown under the radar, and is a hidden gem in the heart of our Innovation District.

Eric Cook, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, graciously conducted a tour for Ignite Fredericton staff. It was a learning experience, as I never knew that RPC had its original roots where Kings Place stands today. RPC was created as a result of the Research and Productivity A...

Last month, Ignite Fredericton and its Natural Resources Task Force (NRTF) supported task force member, ForestNB, with their advocacy campaign regarding the spruce budworm early intervention strategy. You may be asking why?

This early intervention program combats the devastating effects of spruce budworm infestation that kills forests. If left untreated, spruce budworm will cost Atlantic Canada $15.3 billion over 40 years… That means mill closures and the loss of jobs! It means the loss of carbon sinks, which help balance greenhouse gas emissions. It means dead, dry forests, which are more susceptible to wildfires.

New Brunswick’s natural resources sector, comprising forestry, represents $3.98 billion in annual GDP employing 30,000 people. This breaks down to $600 million and 5,000 people employed in natural resources in the Fredericton Region largely due to the fact that over 25% of UNB graduates work in natural resources and relate...

The US scientific and business communities are becoming increasingly uneasy about the future of special skill or Genius Visas, like the H1B. And rightly so.

Dr. Michio Kaku, New York Times best selling author and physicist, called the H1B visa a “secret bullet” without which Silicon Valley wouldn’t exist.

In April, President Trump signed an executive order mandating significant change to a number of immigration programs, including the H1B. Nobody knows what the final picture will look like. However, the visa program that helped build some of the greatest companies on Earth will likely have a new and much narrower focus. And that could be a problem.

Meanwhile, Canada is quietly launching expanded and expedited Genius Visa programs (My own nickname for them). The US has long been the brain that sucked up all the best talent from...

For some time, Ignite Fredericton has been touting the Digital Product Development Living Lab and Innovation District, where we have packaged our assets and value props to attract investment to the region.

In our 2015 column, Innovation District was explained as a key deliverable evolving from the city’s first economic development strategy, Vision 2000, in 1992. It was to develop a ‘knowledge corridor’ by creating a technology and research park, and leveraging assets like the universities and research and development organizations. Today, we have over 60 R&D organizations within the Innovation District’s 2km radius, anchored by Knowledge Park, and the University of New Brunswick - outputting over 75% of the province’s university-related research.

My name is Vena Carr and I am a graphic designer and illustrator practicing in Fredericton, NB. Specializing in branding and marketing design, prepress layout, and image creation, I hope to turn my freelance work into a full-time career.

In 2015, I began studying graphic design at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. I chose to pursue graphics because I simply thought it was the best solution between pursuing art and not becoming a starving artist (instead, I became a starving design student). My passion for graphics did not begin until I was hired by the Canadian Crafts Federation (CCF) as a summer intern in 2016. Already having a love for the arts, I felt at home working for a non-profit organization that envisions “Canadian culture which embraces...

This month, I am going to use this opportunity to convey our extreme disappointment with the outcome of the Energy East Pipeline project -- a 4,500 km pipeline that would have transported 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Western Canada to refineries in Eastern Canada. In a province with a $14 billion deficit - New Brunswick could not afford to lose the prospect of 3,700 high paying jobs with a $6.5 billion GDP provincial impact!

On a national scale, Canada has lost the potential of 14,000 jobs and $55 billion in national economic impact = $10 billion in federal and provincial tax revenue = ability to lower corporate and personal taxes, which pay for public services, facilities and infrastructure. This is a massive blow on top of the federal Finance Minister...

This is the ninth installment of this innovation column. We have talked about innovation from many angles—Innovation Week, Innovation District and leveraging innovation and assets toward job creation. But what is innovation? How do you innovate? Let’s talk about that today. I’ve spent a lot of time the last few months learning about local startups and some of the revolutionary things they’re doing in Fredericton like Resson Aerospace, Mycodev Group and ReadyPass Services Inc. Through my research, I discovered innovation is many things. It’s a goal. It’s mindset. It’s a practice. It’s an idea. It’s a product. It’s a solution. It’s hard to pin down right?